Bottle-closure.



R. C(WILSONL BOTTLE CLOS URE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 13. 1915- l 291 ,009. Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

flT yM ATTORNEYS INVE/VTUR onto ROBERT OUMMING WILSON, OF ATHENS,GEORGIA.

BOTTLE-CLOSURE.

memos.

Application filed December 13, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. VViLsoN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Athens, in the county of Clarke and State of Georgia,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bottle- Closures,of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to bottle closures andparticularly to bottle caps or shields adapted to be'associated withcork stoppers for purposes now well section through a bottle neckillustrating the practical application thereto of the device shown inFig. 1. Figs. 3 to 11 inclu si've are sectional perspective viewsillustrating certain modifications of which my invention is capable, andFig. 12 is a top plan view of the device illustrated in Fig. 11.

. Referring now to these figures, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,illustratingthe most simple form of which my invention is capable, itwill be seen that my improvements essentially include a substantiallycirtherefrom relatively opposite to that of the cular body plate Ahaving a central opening and a tubular upright extension B projectingupwardly from, and surrounding, said body plate opening, and in adirection outer depending flange C of'the body plate, the latter ofwhich in'use surrounds the lip D at the upper end of the neckeD of abottle Das seen in Fig. 2.

The tubular extension B just mentioned, it will be noted, is-straightfrom end to end and of sufiicient length to firmly grip a cork E over asubstantial portion thereof when inserted and forced into the opening ofthe body plate A in use. The cap also essentially includes an outwardlyflaring flange F at the upper end of the tubular extension B and whichin use incloses the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented @Qt. 19, 1916. Serial No. 66,661.

upper end of the cork E as shown in Fig. 2, slightly compressed thoughenlarged with respect to that portion inclosed by the extension B.

Thus in use, it being understood that a cork of substantially increaseddiameter with respect to the diameter of the. body opening and the neckor tubular portion B is utilized, the cork upon being forced through thebody opening until its outer end is substantially flush with the outerend of flange F, is compressed and firmly gripped by the extension Bthroughout the length of the latter and is formed with shoulders E and Eabove and below the extension B, the former being located within theflaring flange F and the latter being located at the relatively oppositeside of the body plate A, so that in the after use of the cap inconnection with the'cork all danger of the cork pulling from the cap inone direction or the other, is entirely eliminated.

In this connection it is desired to call attention'to the fact that, dueto the peculiar texture of cork commonly used as a bottle stopper, it isnecessary to grip the surface of the cork firmly and at more than asingle point and that shouldered portions of the cork must be left uponthe relatively oppo site sides of its portion gripped in order that thecork may be forced into the bottle neck and removed therefrom bygrasping the bottle cap of the nature I have shown. For this purpose theinner surfaces of the extension B and flange F are suflicient if smooth,but it may be desirable to roughen these inner surfaces as shown inFigs. 3, 4, 5, 11, and 12, in order to more firmly grip the cork, and itmay be desirable to either provide the flange F with an internal rib Fat its outer end as shown in Fig- 6 to engage the upper end of the cork,or to serrate the flange as indicated at F in Fig.

7, providing tongues which may be pressed into the material of the cork.

In the formshown in Fig. 6, and constructed as just above described, thecork is to be pushed beyond the internal rib F and permitted to expandinside of the same and closely against the inner surface of the flange Fto prevent upward movement of the cork with respect to the cap when, forinstance, the cork is thrust into the neck of a bottle. Furthermore, inconnection with the serrated flange as indicated at F in Fig. 7 justabove mentioned, the cork ma be allowed to swell or bulge outwardlybetween the several tongues,,without thrust ing the latter into thematerial of the cork.

In Fig. 4 the extension B is shown with an internal circumferential ribB, this construction being reversed in Fig. 5, wherein the extension Bhas an outwardly presented circumferential rib forming an innercircumferential groove B The extension B may however be provided withinwardly indented projections B as shown in Fig. 3, spaced apart toenter the material of the cork, and the flange F may be similarlyconstructed with inwardly indented portions F as shown in Fig. 10. Theflange F may be also provided, for the same purpose, with inset integraltongues F as shown in Fig. 11.

In the use of a bottle cap of this type, as well known, a label ispasted across the top of the cork E, covering the upper edge of theflange F in the present construction, as shown in the figures justdescribed. The upper edge of the flange F may, however, have asurrounding straight extension F as shown in Fig. 9, and the body plateA may have its central portion inset as indicated at A in Fig. 8, so asto bring the outer upper edge of the flange F in the same horizontalplane with the outer portion of the body plate A, thus providing for alabel to cover the entire upper surface of the cap.

The several modified constructions hereinbefore described for thepurpose of promoting increased gripping action between the cap and thecork, may be utilized either separately as indicated in Figs. 4, 5, 6,7, and 10, or may beutilized together as in Fig. 11 where, in additionto the inset tongues F of the flange F, the extension B is provided withinner projections 13 similar to those shown in Fig. 3.

Furthermore, in carrying forward the same idea of additional grippingaction upon the cork, the opening of the body plate A and the tubularextension B as well as the flaring flange F may be of oval form insteadof perfectly round, so as to compress the cork greater in one directionthan in the other, as shown in Fig. 12, this figure being a plan view ofthe form in Fig. 11.

Itwill thus be seen that in addition to the fact that I obviate alldanger of accidental displacement of the cork with respect to the capbeing used, I provide according to the foregoing object, a capengageable with a cork without itself entering, at any point,

into the bottle or its neck in connection. with which the cap and thecork are utilized.

I claim 1. A bottle closure consisting of a body plate having a centralopening through which a cork may be partly extended, said cap beingprovided with an outer extension surrounding its said opening andconsisting of a straight wall whereby to evenly and firmly grip the corkalong a substantial portion of its surface adjacent its outer end, saidextension having an outwardly flaring flange at its outer end in whichthe outer end of the cork is received.

2; A bottle closure consisting of a body plate having a surroundingflange at its edge and having a central opening through which a cork maybe partly extended, said cap being provided with an. extensionsurrounding its said opening and projecting therefrom in a directionopposite to that of the body plate flange, said extension consisting ofa straight wall whereby to evenly and firmly grip the cork along asubstantial portion of its surface adjacent its outer end, saidextension having an outwardly flaring flange at its outer end in whichthe outer end of the cork is received.

3. A bottle closure consisting of a body plate having a central openingand an extension surrounding and projecting outwardly from said opening,said extension consisting of a straight'wall and having an outwardlyflaring flange at its outer end to receivethe outer end of a cork forcedinto the said extension, said extension having a roughened inner corkgripping surface.

4. A bottle closure consisting of a body plate having a central openingand an extension surrounding and projecting outwardly from said opening,said extension consisting of a straight Wall and having an outwardlyflaring flange at its outer end to receive the outer end of a corkforced into the extension, said flange having a roughened inner corkgripping surface.

5. A bottle closure consisting of a body plate having a central openingand an ex tension surrounding and projecting outwardly from saidopening, said extension consisting of a straight wall and having anoutwardly flaring flange at its outer end to receive the outer end of acork forced into the extension, said extension and flange being shapedto more tightly grip the cork in one direction than the other.

ROBERT CUMMING WILSON.

